By Gideon Njoku

Former Lagos State Attorney General, and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olasupo Shasore, is enmeshed in a two-million dollar fraud scandal, which is threatening to rubbish his reputation. The EFCC has labelled him dishonest and, called him a saboteur, almost.

To this effect, on July the 16th, he resigned from the membership of the Justice Reform Project, JRP.

The JRP, is a group of like-mind lawyers, devoted to building trust, and confidence of the public in the Judiciary.

It is not known if he resigned on his own, or was forced to, but the JRP, in a statement, said he voluntarily resigned over the serious allegation, but would fight to reaffirm his innocence.

Shasore served as the Attoney General, and Commissioner for Justice,  under the administration of former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola.

He was Fashola’s prefered candidate to succeed him as Governor, and had started his campaign by placing advertisements in national newspapers.

But the plan crashed because Lagos State’s ultimate kingmaker, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, prefered Akinwunmi Ambode to him.

Ambode fell out with Tinubu after one term in office, and was replaced by the current Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Shasore’s problem stems from the EFCC investigation of the P & ID multi-billion Dollar Scandal with the Federal Republic of Nigeria, FGN.

He was a Counsel to the FGNigeria, but according to the EFCC report, Shasore, allegedly, got himself entangled in a two-million Dollar  scandal.

Part of the EFCC report, which indicted him, and forced his resignation from JRP says:

“It  has  also  come  to  light  during  the  course  of  the  EFCC’s  investigations  that: a.  Mr  Shasore  was  paid  US$2  million  for  his  involvement  in  the  first  and  second  stages  of  the arbitration.

“The  average  salary  of  a  government  lawyer  in  Nigeria  is  just  US$5,000.

“Mr Shasore concealed  his involvement  in  the  case  from  his  own  firm,  Ajumogobia  & Okeke. He  conducted  the  proceedings  covertly  through  a  separate  firm,  Twenty  Marina,  which  had no  background  in  litigation  and  was  used  to  provide  secretarial  services.

“Mr Shasore  made  payments  of  US$100,000  each  to  Mrs  Adelore  and  Mr  Oguine,  who  were senior  lawyers  for  the  MPR  and  the  NNPC  at  the  time:  paragraphs  44-45  above.  The  most likely  explanation  is  that  these  payments  were  intended  to  purchase  the  silence  of  Mrs Adelore  and  Mr  Oguine  in  relation  to  Mr  Shasore’s  conduct  of  the  arbitration.

“Based  on  these  payments,  Mr  Shasore  was  clearly  dishonest  and  corruptible  (and,  as  set  out above,  P&ID  had  a  track  record  of  corruption).

“Following  the  election  of  President  Buhari  into  office,  and  the  transfer  of  the  conduct  of  the arbitration  to  the  MoJ  for  the  liability  phase,  Mr  Shasore  refused  to  meet  with  the  Attorney General  and  complained  that  it  was  unacceptable  and  unconscionable  to  liaise  with  [the AG’s]  office  on  the  matter,  as  he  had  always  liaised  with  the  MPR  since  commencement  of the  proceedings.

“As  described  below,  and  in  Schedule  2,  Mr  Shasore’s  conduct  of  the  first  two  stages  of  the arbitration  was  truly  egregious.  He  chose  not  to  seek  any  disclosure,  to  accept  all  material aspects  of  Mr  Quinn’s  witness  evidence,  and  did  not  seek  to  cross-examine  anyone  at  P&ID on  the  key  issue  in  the  case:  whether  P&ID  could,  and  would  have  performed  the  GSPA.

“In light  of  the  indicators  of  fraud  listed  above,  the  most  likely  explanation  for  this  is  that  Mr Shasore  had  entered  into  a  dishonest  arrangement  with  P&ID  not  to  challenge  its  evidence or  seek  any  disclosure,  with  the  inevitable  result  that  FRN  lost  the  case.

“Mr  Shasore’s  failure  to  challenge  Mr  Quinn’s  evidence 75.  A  chronology  of  Mr  Shasore’s  egregious  conduct  in  the  arbitration,  which  the  Court  is  invited to  read  in  full,  is  appended  as  Schedule  2  to  this  skeleton  argument.”

In the statement announcing his resignation, JSP said he intends to defend his reputation.

It reads: “Mr Olasupo Shasore, SAN, has today, 16th July, voluntarily, relinquished his role and function in the Justice Reform Project, in the light of serious allegations made against him in a professional capacity in recent proceedings arising from the controversial P & ID arbitration with the FGN.

“At some point, Mr Shashore, SAN, acted as Counsel to the FGN.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Shasora, SAN, insists that at all times, he acted properly, and professionally in the best interest of his client, and will exercise all options to vindicate his conduct and defend his well earned high professional reputation.

“In the interim, however, in order that these developments do not detract or distract from the important mission of the JRP, to which he remains fully committed, he has resigned and recued himself from its functions indefinitely”